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It’s the million dollar question right now, isn’t it? I’ve done a bit of homework and it’s my hope is that this post will help you gain a greater understanding of the poly ball, to lessen the confusion surrounding it and hopefully to ease your decision on what poly ball to choose.
So which poly ball should you choose? To be frank, it’s not perfectly clear. The overall situation is still quite dynamic and things have not yet settled down. On the other hand balls are evolving and seem to get better by the batch. There’s much moaning and complaining still to come, but the fact of the matter is that that is utterly pointless at this stage. The change isn’t coming - it’s already here and all we can do is embrace it and make the best out of it.
MANUFACTURERS AND BALLS
At the moment there are 4 active manufacturers of the new poly ball (compared to 5 or 6 factories for the celluloid ball). All seamed “Made in China” balls are manufactured by either Double Happiness and Double Fish (their clones are listed below). Seamed “Made in Japan” balls are made by Nittaku. The seamless balls and their clones are all made in China by Xushaofa.
The fifth manufacturer is Weener in Germany, but they have yet to release any balls on the market. (UPDATE: They have just announced the release of the new Butterfly 3-star ball.)
The different balls all comply with the ITTF regulations for balls with the - temporary - exception of the DHS/DF balls which are allowed to be a little bit overweight until sometime 2016. After that they will have to comply with the original weight specs.
The manufacturers comply with the regulations employing widely differing ways. For example, the seamed DHS/DF ball and the seamed Nittaku Premium use different manufacturing methods and different plastic materials even though they are both seamed. To add to that, the seamless ball is again manufactured in a completely different way using different materials.
Please note: The slight increase in ball size and the change of material isn’t relevant to and isn’t not covered by this thread as it is focusing on playing characteristics and durability only. It doesn’t matter what the ball looks like, smells like, sounds like or how big it is as long as it plays well. That and the feeling in play is what ultimately matters to us players.
SEAMED BALLS & CLONES
DHS/Double Fish clones
DHS 40+
Double Fish 40+
Andro Speedball Mi1
Donic 40+ Cell-Free
Nittaku SHA
Tibhar SYN TT
Joola Super-P
Stiga Optimum 40+
Butterfly 40+
Yasaka 40+
TSP 40+
Cornilleau P-Ball
Chenvul Marura
Xiom
729 P.S. 40+
Komann
Gewo Ultra 40+
Nittaku
Nittaku PLS Premium
Weener
Butterfly G40+
SEAMLESS BALLS & CLONES
Xushaofa (XSF) clones
Xushaofa 40+ POLY
Yinhe
Palio 40+
Nexy 40+
Stag Peter Karlsson 40+
Xiom 40+
Kingnik 40+
Hanno
Gambler (not ITTF approved, but USATT-approved. Same quality as 3-star ITTF balls)
Tibhar SYN SL
Joola Flash
Schildkröt
729 40+
Asian Pacific 40+
All currently ITTF approved balls can be found here:
http://www.ittf.com/stories/Pictures/Balls_01_2016.pdf
HOW DO SEAMED AND SEAMLESS COMPARE?
So how do the poly balls compare to celluloid and to each other? Below is just a brief comparison chart with info gleaned, compiled and interpreted from forums and blogs in Germany, Singapore, Australia, North America, the UK, Sweden, Denmark and from discussions with fellow players ranging from Div 2 local leagues to Top50 players in the UK.
Naturally, it isn’t scientific in any way, shape or form. It is however based on a large sample of players and their thoughts, actual experiences and findings, and not my own. Furthermore, a greater emphasis has been placed on comments on the latest, improved batches of the balls and much less on comments on the first, lower quality batches.
=============================================================================
On a scale of 0-10 where celluloid balls are represented by an “8”, this is how the poly balls appear to compare on average.
<tbody>
</tbody>
=============================================================================
SO WHICH POLY BALL SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I hope this post will help you make a better informed decision. Some of the choice of ball comes down the question of whether we are prepared to accept lower bounce, poor durabilty and inconsistent bounce. In reality we do not need to accept this, as both the seamless ball and the Nittaku Premium do not have these problems. By choosing and buying them we as players will send a clear message to the manufacturers and the ITTF that we only accept quality products and certainly not inferior ones.
The Nittaku Premium (NOT the Nittaku SHA!) does seem to be the best alternative if you’re looking for a ball as close as currently possible to the behaviour of the old celluloid. However, it suffers from fragility and it’s not widely available today. Also, all indications are that it’s significantly more expensive than other poly balls. All things taken into consideration, the Xushaofa clones seems to be the balls to choose at the moment. What is abundantly clear however, is that the DHS/DF balls are inferior in almost every aspect and perhaps best avoided.
In the end however, there’s nothing better than to try out the balls with your friends and pick the one that that you think feels the best. Whatever you choose, play and get used to that ball (it won’t take long at all). And most important of all: keep on enjoying your table tennis!
Good luck!
So which poly ball should you choose? To be frank, it’s not perfectly clear. The overall situation is still quite dynamic and things have not yet settled down. On the other hand balls are evolving and seem to get better by the batch. There’s much moaning and complaining still to come, but the fact of the matter is that that is utterly pointless at this stage. The change isn’t coming - it’s already here and all we can do is embrace it and make the best out of it.
MANUFACTURERS AND BALLS
At the moment there are 4 active manufacturers of the new poly ball (compared to 5 or 6 factories for the celluloid ball). All seamed “Made in China” balls are manufactured by either Double Happiness and Double Fish (their clones are listed below). Seamed “Made in Japan” balls are made by Nittaku. The seamless balls and their clones are all made in China by Xushaofa.
The fifth manufacturer is Weener in Germany, but they have yet to release any balls on the market. (UPDATE: They have just announced the release of the new Butterfly 3-star ball.)
The different balls all comply with the ITTF regulations for balls with the - temporary - exception of the DHS/DF balls which are allowed to be a little bit overweight until sometime 2016. After that they will have to comply with the original weight specs.
The manufacturers comply with the regulations employing widely differing ways. For example, the seamed DHS/DF ball and the seamed Nittaku Premium use different manufacturing methods and different plastic materials even though they are both seamed. To add to that, the seamless ball is again manufactured in a completely different way using different materials.
Please note: The slight increase in ball size and the change of material isn’t relevant to and isn’t not covered by this thread as it is focusing on playing characteristics and durability only. It doesn’t matter what the ball looks like, smells like, sounds like or how big it is as long as it plays well. That and the feeling in play is what ultimately matters to us players.
SEAMED BALLS & CLONES
DHS/Double Fish clones
DHS 40+
Double Fish 40+
Andro Speedball Mi1
Donic 40+ Cell-Free
Nittaku SHA
Tibhar SYN TT
Joola Super-P
Stiga Optimum 40+
Butterfly 40+
Yasaka 40+
TSP 40+
Cornilleau P-Ball
Chenvul Marura
Xiom
729 P.S. 40+
Komann
Gewo Ultra 40+
Nittaku
Nittaku PLS Premium
Weener
Butterfly G40+
SEAMLESS BALLS & CLONES
Xushaofa (XSF) clones
Xushaofa 40+ POLY
Yinhe
Palio 40+
Nexy 40+
Stag Peter Karlsson 40+
Xiom 40+
Kingnik 40+
Hanno
Gambler (not ITTF approved, but USATT-approved. Same quality as 3-star ITTF balls)
Tibhar SYN SL
Joola Flash
Schildkröt
729 40+
Asian Pacific 40+
All currently ITTF approved balls can be found here:
http://www.ittf.com/stories/Pictures/Balls_01_2016.pdf
HOW DO SEAMED AND SEAMLESS COMPARE?
So how do the poly balls compare to celluloid and to each other? Below is just a brief comparison chart with info gleaned, compiled and interpreted from forums and blogs in Germany, Singapore, Australia, North America, the UK, Sweden, Denmark and from discussions with fellow players ranging from Div 2 local leagues to Top50 players in the UK.
Naturally, it isn’t scientific in any way, shape or form. It is however based on a large sample of players and their thoughts, actual experiences and findings, and not my own. Furthermore, a greater emphasis has been placed on comments on the latest, improved batches of the balls and much less on comments on the first, lower quality batches.
=============================================================================
On a scale of 0-10 where celluloid balls are represented by an “8”, this is how the poly balls appear to compare on average.
SEAMED DHS/DF | SEAMED Nittaku | SEAMLESS XSF clones | SEAMED Weener G40+ | |
Durability | 5-6 | 7 | 8-9 | 7- |
Roundness | 6 | 8 | 8-9 | 8 |
Spin | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Bounce consistency | Inconsistent | Consistent | Consistent | Consistent |
Bounce height | 7 | 8 | 8-9 | 8 |
Weight | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Speed | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8-9 |
Feeling (vis-a-vis celluloid) | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
<tbody>
</tbody>
=============================================================================
SO WHICH POLY BALL SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
I hope this post will help you make a better informed decision. Some of the choice of ball comes down the question of whether we are prepared to accept lower bounce, poor durabilty and inconsistent bounce. In reality we do not need to accept this, as both the seamless ball and the Nittaku Premium do not have these problems. By choosing and buying them we as players will send a clear message to the manufacturers and the ITTF that we only accept quality products and certainly not inferior ones.
The Nittaku Premium (NOT the Nittaku SHA!) does seem to be the best alternative if you’re looking for a ball as close as currently possible to the behaviour of the old celluloid. However, it suffers from fragility and it’s not widely available today. Also, all indications are that it’s significantly more expensive than other poly balls. All things taken into consideration, the Xushaofa clones seems to be the balls to choose at the moment. What is abundantly clear however, is that the DHS/DF balls are inferior in almost every aspect and perhaps best avoided.
In the end however, there’s nothing better than to try out the balls with your friends and pick the one that that you think feels the best. Whatever you choose, play and get used to that ball (it won’t take long at all). And most important of all: keep on enjoying your table tennis!
Good luck!
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